Just plain weird. It doesn't look like the picture; it's much more dense. From a distance, it looks like a brick. In fact, it looks like that close up. And even before I took it out of the pouch I smelled a strong scent of patchouli. To break it up, I tried two techniques: First, i tried to cut a flake two ways: with the layered leaf and against it. Neither works as the density is uneven and the flake falls apart into individual leaves. Secondly, I just cut some off and pulled the leaves apart, which is time consuming. It's impossible to 'rub out' like you can a flake as the individual tobacco leaves are entirely intact and cannot be broken by friction, only torn apart.

One thing about this tobacco is that you can actually pull out individual tobacco leaves. They have all been coated in the topping and folded around in various ways and pressed into this plug. However, I noticed that when you pull the leaves apart, your fingertips become covered in a brownish oil, apparently the topping. However, the tobacco does not seem to have been packed wet. The only wetness I find is the oiliness of the topping. I also left this sealed in my car and the smell quickly spread around the car, but it didn't soak into the upholstry or ruin the smell of the car, despite what others have said.

The only way I've been able to pack this is seperate the leaves and drop them into the pipe. Lighting is extremely difficult; I had to light 3-4 times to get it going, and once I did, I tasted no difference than what I had smelled when I recieved it in the mail. It tastes and smells like patchouli. In fact, even though the topping doesn't seem to be sickeningly strong, it completely overtakes the tobacco taste; I taste no tobacco in this blend at all. After I smoked it, I was sure I would be on some kind of drug trip, it tastes and smells so much like a hookah shop. However, despite the strong flavor, it does not seem to have a noticible amount of chemicals that soak the cake in the pipe; it smoked dry and with a white ash.

One thing that I did not find in this blend was an extremely strong or sickening taste. I was even told by others around me that the aroma was pleasant. The tobacco seems to be relatively mild. The flavoring is not sickeningly strong either, but omnipresent. This blend is one-dimensional and tastes like patchouli. If you like patchouli, buy this. However, you will not find any natural or tobacco related taste here at all.

Vile. It does possess some aerodynamic virtues. When I "skipped" this across the surface of my pond, I got four perfect bounces before it sunk. A few minutes later the entire pond was awash in dead amphibian creatures.

How am I going to get the smell out of all those fish?

I get it. It's flavored with "Chevrolet" not "Cheviot". Or, it could be flavored with "Chevron"...about 90 Octane would be my best guess.

If we're to believe the esteemed history that this blend carries, perhaps this is one of those anachronistic tobacco oddities that you should enjoy in your confederate army officer uniform while camped out somewhere in Alabama, shooting muzzle-loading rifles at union army re-enactors.

Here in the present, though, this is another fantastic blend of quality leaf that is overwhelmed by the topping.

Out of the bag (bulk purchase), the plug smells like Christmas: Cloves, oranges, spices, children being chased by giant living nutcracker soldiers, etc.

But after a few minutes, that happy troop of scents is replaced by an irritating and cloying smell that lingers and begins to saturate everything in the room. Keep this stuff in the mason jar that housed your stinkiest topped flakes, otherwise it will creep into everything. And test it out in a cob or something bought for abuse until you're sure you love this stuff.

The taste is just too much to bear for me, and the nicotine punch is also serious enough to put it in the rope-strength category.

Worth a try if only for the historical aspect, but it is not for the faint of heart---or nose.

UPDATE: When ground up and sprinkled around garden shed walls, this blend may actually be more useful as pest control for ants and mice.

I love SG tobaccos, but, oh my, this is the most powerfully scented tobacco I have ever smoked. Warning: to try this stuff, use a pipe that you can throw away if you don't enjoy it; don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Now, I can see how this tobacco can be an acquired taste. I enjoy the Lakeland soapiness of SG tobaccos, however, the flavoring is just too strong for me to enjoy. It's powerful, perfumy, and cloying. To get an idea, mix several perfumes with body bath oil and scented dishwashing detergent and allow the mixture to soak into a tobacco. Not my cup of tea.

Sam Gawith Cannon Plug. I find this one a little perplexing, it goes against the grain of what I normally enjoy in tobaccos! The moment it was taken out the bag I realised I was dealing with a full aromatic, it smells strongly of perfume/flowers. Hands down this is the easiest ever plug to prepare! If you enjoy well rubbed mixtures then go for this! I slice thin pieces which then are remarkably simple to rub to a very delicate consistency. Getting mine ignited is straight forward, the fine rubbing's only need a short touch of the flame to give a substantial burn. The smoke is very comfortable, no bite and fairly cool in temp'. The flavour is just what I anticipated from the aroma, a strong floral taste which strangely I enjoy! Right from the initial lighting to the end the flavour remains the same strength, a very formidable hit of perfume and flowers! If you are smoking this for the first time use a cob or an old pipe as this leaves one hell of a ghost so if you really hate it (which you might) you will have made your favourite pipe redundant for a while! The nicotine in Cannon is quite strong, it's not for those out there who smoke only for taste! After a few bowls of this I can honestly say it's one of the few strong aromatics that I enjoy! Four stars.

"Cheviot"...This flavoring I simply do not like...whatever it is, it is not my idea of "honey-dew" or anything close to that flavor. Some have suggested patchouli, I do not like that scent either...so for me, this is the only SG plug I can't tolerate.

When opening the tin, this tobacco tells the entire room of its arrival with a strong and sweet smell of flowers. This smell stays in the room for more than an hour after opening the tin. The tobacco is, as a plug, tightly packed, but after having dug into it, I can conclude that the tobacco has not been cut before being pressed. I even succeeded in folding out piece of a tobacco leaf about 2 x 3 centimeters wide. This results in having to rip each piece to shreds before putting it in the pipe, and even then, the tobacco is hard to light. The tobacco is sticky and leaves a residue on the fingers.

As soon as I’ve taken my first puff of the pipe, I can taste the same overpowering flowers. After having smoked about half of the tobacco, I have to give up and smoke something else. It is simply too pervasive and overpowering, and doesn’t taste of anything else than flowers. So if you long for the taste of flowers, and don’t like putting them straight into your mouth, then the SG Cannon Plug might be something for you. If not, keep it far away from yourself! And if you absolutely must try it, do yourself the favor of using a pipe you don’t mind cleaning thoroughly, as the tobacco lingers in the pipe for a long time.

As a final note, I can only wonder, who might have taken a whiff of this flower-tobacco and thought, “This reminds me of a large gunpowder weapon!”

This is only my second plug, and I can't think of a tobacco more different from my first one, 3P's. Nonetheless, I can normally rely on SG to give a good tobacco.

The aroma is one of lemons, and strongly so too, the taste of the smoke is not a lot different, a big reminder of Grousemoor. I did find little hints of toffee in there too, but maybe that's my imagination running away with me. This does need a little drying, even then it can take a couple of relights to get going, otherwise there are no real problems.

Generally then, a good tobacco. After the initial euphoria of that very perky lemon smell, it can get a little samy, but I have no problems getting this again.

Based on an ounce sample. Nice dark plug with a bag aroma of something I couldn't hope to ascertain. That happens a lot to me with G&H florals. As a fan of same, the aroma was enticing. The flavor only mildly disappointed, which means this is still an excellent blend. At this point, I just expect G&H Lakelands to be stellar, and this one was merely "great". Then again, an ounce is only an ounce.

Flavor did not resemble honeydew but it was pretty robust, whatever it was. The flavoring level was up there with Ennerdale but wasn't quite as over-the-top. It was quite nice. I cut the plug into small cubes for loading and had no problems getting it alight. Burned just fine, albeit with a few relights. Pretty good nic content but not overpowering. As with most G&H Lakelands, the flavor did not dissipate down the bowl. As I smoke meerschaums almost exclusively, the ghosting was minimal. I'm not good at naming flavorings, but this was flowery and fairly strong but not as much so as Ennerdale, which I love. The main difference between the two is that whatever they flavor Ennerdale with is the flavoring I prefer. Your mileage may vary. This is a great tasting tobacco, as I expect from G&H, and is definitely recommended.

This lovely tobacco is not scented with patchouli. I'll confess that I don't know what cheviot is. I've smelled and tasted honey dew (the melon, at least); and can confidently say that this plug is flavored with far more than that. I agree with a previous reviewer that the scent/aroma is reminiscent of Grousemoor. I find it more floral than anything else. I love Grousemoor, but find it rates too low on the Nicter scale for me. For lovers of Grousemoor who crave a bit more strength, Cannon Plug is ideal.

So...first off, let's get something straight. This is not actually tobacco per se. You know in 'Peter Pan' where the boys and girls are all supposed to clap their hands if they believe in fairies...and it would make Tinkerbell come back to life? This is something like that. Every time a pipe smoker lights up a bowl of Lakeland tobacco and thinks "OMG", or "Holy CRAP", or the like...it's like a little boy or girl clapping their hands...and in so doing, the Lakeland "Flower Flavor Fairy" puts another little hit of flavor into Cannon Plug. So you see, in a way, it's a kind of 'Magic Plug' - a compilation, if you will, of all the astonishment that nimrod smokers everywhere have felt at the flower power of the Lakeland blends. Oh, sure, well there's a little tobacco in there too I suppose. Likely pretty good stuff knowing it's from one of those nice Gawith boys.

PS: Whomever suggested this was a good DGT blend was right on. Plus...I don't think there's another blend in the whole wide world that give such impact per the cost. It's like getting the Acme Anvil of Lakeland flavors dropped on your little Wiley Coyote head...with each and every puff.

Where does this one fall in the overall scope of all things Gawith? Well, I characterized Coniston Cut Plug as the 'Goldilocks Blend' in that it fell into that perfect and ideal zone in which every aspect was, just right. Following on that kind of metaphore...this one is the 'Tinkerbell Blend'. It's a blend that'll bring a dead fairy back to life.

This is a very interesting tobacco. First, when you open it, the smell is very intensive - but also very nice. It's quite easy to prepare - but you should dry it for about 15-30 minutes. Smoking is a bit difficult, but also very tasty: sweetness of first class virginias, but also honey dew scenting. In some kind, it reminds me Grousemoor a bit. Room note is quite pleasant, but remains for a very long time. I like it!

This is the aromatic of the English world and unlike it's American brethern, it is wonderful.

This tobacco starts out with the same base as Kendal Plug, of which Best Brown Flake is a sliced version. As such, many of you may have smoked this tobacco before and know the properties it brings (i.e. nicotine, strength). What you likely haven't sampled before is the unique topping.

I ordered a 2 oz plug of this from smokingpipes.com a while ago and was very impressed. It came in a ziploc bag and looked broken off a larger plug. I've since ordered two 1 lb plugs from tobacco supermarket for aging. As with other SG tobaccos, this has been hard to come by lately.

Honeydew best describes this, as it is sweet and slightly floral, without being overpowering. I usually don't go for aromatic type tobaccos, but this is making me rethink.

I usually find aromatics taste more of burnt sugar and/or chemicals than tobacco. This gives a fruit flavour on top of tobacco, but nothing offensive like you'd get from something labelled 'black cherry' or 'raspberry delight'. This tobacco suits me fine when I am in the mood for something sweet. With a cup of tea on a summer's day, it's a dream.

Like other plugs, I find that this does better in a medium-larger pipe.

Order 2 oz when you get a chance. The aroma of the plug is a little overwhelming, and so is the charring light. Take your time with it. Devote a clean pipe with a medium-large bowl and keep an open mind...it just may grow on you!

When I first got this plug, I was overwhelmed with the odor. I cut some off, rubbed and started to smoke, it was overpowering. I felt kind of dumb for getting a whole pound. The first bowl did not make me happy, and the room note was cloying.

I figured I would try making some snuff from it. Crazy? Maybe. I dried out a 1" cube and while reducing it in size, decided to set a bowl's worth aside for the pipe. The cube rubbed and cut out to quite a nice pile of tobacco. Beautiful golden virginia, how could this not be good?? The odor had lessened considerably after airing out overnight.

After it has some time to air out and dry, it changes dramatically. A bowl can last me days, it smokes so slow and steady, and the DGT is sublime, right off the match. It is a very, very nice blend after airing out a good while. No bite, burns clean and dry to a light gray ash. A nice semi-sweet flavor, with notes of vanilla, honey, and angel food cake. The wonderful tobacco does come through as well, gorgeous golden virginias. I love this as a dessert smoke, and it is no wimpy smoke either, very relaxing and delicious, makes my head warm. The room note is pleasant, and the wife does not complain. The snuff I made from it is very good as well. I adore this blend, and it scores an easy four or more stars from me.

I finally broke out a 7 year old brick a week or so ago. I was in a strange mood and figured I might as well smoke a strange tobacco. Bingo!

Cannon Plug had a very rotted fruit smell from the moment I opened the package. I took a swak and shaved it. The smell is still on my fingers a week later. I was smart enough to grab an old pipe reserved for aromatics. Although not really aromatic in flavor, Cannon Plug does leave its taste and scent in your pipe long after the tobacco has been consumed. I will own up to the fact that only a quarter bowl was consumed before I decided I was no longer in a strange mood.

Somewhat recommended for those who go totally against the grain in all that they do.

This is a very intense Lakeland plug. The flavoring is applied with a very heavy hand, so much so that the tobacco flavor is somewhat lost. That said, if the concept intrigues you, it is a high quality product, if a bit cloying in the flavor department.

I suspect smoking more than a few bowls would ghost a pipe, so consider yourself warned...

UPDATE I did a chunky cube cut, left it like that for a long time, and then recently hand crushed the cubes down into something that resembled fish food flakes. In this format, with lots of time to rest and good drying, the scent is no longer overwhelming, and is enjoyable to me. (Then again, my tastes are probably a bit broader now than when I last reviewed this.)

You will all think I'm insane for calling this a mild to medium flavoring, but it is not an aromatic and I would say it is strongly scented, not strongly flavored. I ordered it out of curiosity, but it may well become a favorite. It is not my usual practice to review a tobacco after only one bowl, so I smoked a second to be sure! This has to be the most easily prepared plug I have thus far smoked: I simply tore off a chunk and rubbed it for a couple of seconds in my fingers before stuffing it almost whole into a small-bowled Jobey. (Note: I was working off of a piece cut off by the retailer and the main section of the plug might take more prep time!) I was greeted with a heavily perfumed yet mild and pleasant smoke in which the scent (I do not know whether it is honeydew or patchouli, but I like it) was VERY present throughout the bowl, but I could still taste the quality Gawith tobacco behind it. I huffed and I puffed, and found particular pleasure in blowing the smoke out of my nose, but there was no bite to be found. Cannon is also not as strong as 1792 or Irish Flake (Peterson's), but if heavily scented is not your thing, or if the scent of this one is not one that you enjoy, you would dump it out in a hurry. I like Erinmore, and that is a love or hate tobacco as well, but the scent in Erinmore fades a bit as you smoke through the bowl. This scent is quite different, and it does not fade-if anything, it gets stronger. I will use an analogy to the bergamot in Earl Grey tea; it's not quite the same as bergamot of course, but the effect is similar. Earl Grey is tea with something else, and you may or may not like the something else.

For my second bowl, I used a whole leaf that had fallen off the bulk plug, and wadded it up and simply inserted it into the bowl. It smoked just fine, and I got a mainline of that scent, which, if I do not tire of it, may well become a welcome companion to my smoking experience. I'm sure I will not want him (her?) around all the time-i.e. maybe I need to dedicate a pipe to this blend. I'm sure I will need pure unadulterated Virginia still, but I just might go on a kick with this weed!

The plug is a thing of beauty in the bag. The scent can be smelled easily through the plastic! I got it from a popular internet retailer named after a certain planet in the solar system, or Roman god. I ordered with it an equal 4 oz sample of the more natural Kendal Plug and some Turkish blending tobacco. The tobacconist sent me extra of each, and the plugs look more like 6 oz than 4. This supplier has done this for me before without provocation, and when this happens, it makes me want to reciprocate by giving them some free advertising, a free plug, so to speak.

Well, I will certainly have fun with this. I will update my review if I feel differently about the blend in any way, positive or negative, or just to relate how it changes with aging. One note: this plug is quite a bargain at about 10 or 11 dollars for 4 oz, so even if you hated it, it would make a great hockey puck or mantlepiece curio.

1-11-10 I will not smoke this all the time, but it is a great change of pace. For everyday, I recommend Kendal plug.

The first time I tried this tobacco, I was unimpressed. Now, after two years have passed, I decided to try it again. Wow! This was an incredible change of pace for me. My normal tobaccos consist of Va's and Vapers. Consequently, I thought that I would still be unimpressed with this tobacco.

I smoked the cannon plug in a new corn cob pipe. I have found that a briar does not give the same characteristics as a corn cob. Additionally, I have found it is necessary to have a tobacco cutter to get a smokable flake. If you like plugs, it is well worth your time and money to pick one up off of eBay!

The flavors where incredible, very dessert like in nature; the aromatic nature of this tobacco does not posses an artificial chemical nature, as found in most aromatics. Some describe the smell to be of patchouli, I strongly disagree. It has its own essence. To describe it is like trying to describe what a banana taste like to someone who has never tried it. The smoke was pleasant, fruit and flower like, smooth, and non-biting. Albeit, it is is probably best to smoke this outside, because the smell will linger a while after wards.

The first pipe full was so pleasant, I had to grab another pipe and lit up again. I truly fell in love with this tobacco, and look forward to smoking it again soon.

I do not know what Cheviot is as it relates to tobacco. Samuel Gawith Co. Ltd. says..."Part of our traditional English range of plugs, Cannon is derived from the Best Brown cake with a sweet Honey Dew flavour". That is good enough for me.

The plug aroma consists in something like honeydew melon, brown sugar, black coffee, and bread. In the bowl it tastes like the plug aroma suggests it will except the bread is more like toasted English muffins. Upon re-entering the man cave it smells like toasted muffins.

I do not find the plug difficult. I slice enough for one bowl. I tease it and gravity feed it. I do not dry it. It burns cool and dry for me. No bite, no gurgle. It is not harsh. I encounter more throat irritation with straight Virginias like Old Gowrie, FVF, Cut Va Plug, and the like. I love them, but I smoke them infrequently.

Cannon plug is strong and full tasting, but pleasant and refreshing. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys Kendal tobaccos.

07/27/09 UPDATE: I am revising some of my reviews. I have given out more 4 star ratings than anything else. That practice is probably not helping. So, I am reducing Cannon Plug to 3 stars, not because I like it less than I did before, but because I am limiting 4 stars to fewer than 25% of all my reviews. One day I may use the 4 star rating to designate my top five.

When i smoked that Tobacco the first time it was too much flavor for me! I try 3-4 Puffs and then stop smoking this tobacco!

I put the Plug out of the little Bag and let him drie 3-4 Days in my Livingroom. After 4 Days i cut the Plug into slices and then to cube cut. After that "work" i let the cube cuts again drie out for 1-2 hours.Then the little cube cuts are not sticky any longer.

I filled my Pipebowl without pressure! And then i had a not to Strong Flavor anymore! :-) the flavor is sweet,honeysweet with a light Parfume note from the beginning to the end.

Update: For what it's worth, Cannon Plug is topped with Honeydew, not Cheviot. Cheviot is a secret recipe of Sam Gawith, though I have no idea in which blend it is used. I love this plug. Probably will upgrade it to 4 stars when my next pound arrives, as I'm out and really think I need to have another few bowlfuls to be sure. Back to the review. . . .

This is the Mother-in-law of tobaccos. At first there's no way to understand it, much less like it. You need to leave it outside for a while, until the perfume wears off a bit, and then bring it inside, when you have some free time and an open mind. That said, I'm talking about a tobacco here, not my mother-in-law. . . I tear the plug into half inch thick pieces length-wise and let it air out in the plastic bag. Then i cut slices, the thinner the better, and rub out roughly. Let it dry and fire up. The, uh, scenting on this is Strong. But it's really grown on me. Given a little air time, the tobacco taste will come through, and it is good tobacco. Dark and deep, the flavor will be hard to find in all the spice and perfume high notes, but it is there. I understand all the low ratings for this plug, but I like it quite a lot. It's scented, not aromatic. I.e. no goop or glop. (technical terms) Given a chance, well, many chances, this is good, if misunderstandable, smoke.

This thing smells everything but tobacco, the floreal scent is overwhelming. The plug format gives it a certain coolness, when smoked, but also a burning quality less than average. A fine blend for the aromatic-heads, but not my cup of tea.

Be warned, pipe fellas, it seems like Samuel Gawith has used crumbled patchouli incense sticks as a flavoring in this plug. If you´re still stuck in the late sixties on your hippie trip, this might be for you, but all others should refrain from this terrible crap. Occasionally I like to have english or irish aromatics like Erinmore flake or Peterson´s University flake in my pipe but this kind of flavoring is definitely not for me. This is a love-or-hate tobacco and I guess you must have served for the British empire in India or been raised on porridge and Marmite to enjoy this stuff.

From the first light the smell and taste of patchouli overwhelms you until the very end. There´s no tobacco taste to detect. I´ve smoked Cannon Plug from a clay pipe(thank god) as I´d bet it would create an awful crossover to my briars.

Sorry, but I can´t say anything good about this tobacco. Samuel Gawith produces a lot of wonderful mixtures and flakes, but Cannon Plug is not among these.

To start, I'll add my two cents to the "honeydew vs. cheviot" debate. This is definitely not honeydew. And while it may contain cheviot, that is not the only or even the dominant casing. The biggest flavoring here can only be one thing - Patchouli. Yes, that shower-substitute scent for generations of Deadheads. I wouldn't be surprised if there was some rose essence here either. SG isn't known for its full disclosure (check out Tarek's site, where he was told that this was a natural Virginia plug!) Now, to my review.

I tried this early in my smoking career and couldn't take the intense incense flavor. Since then, however, I have grown to enjoy some of the scented Lakeland flakes, in particular GH Glengarry (which IS honeydew, and absolutely delicious), GH #7 Broken Flake (pretty good), and SG Special #7 Flake (which is Cheviot, and very good). So I decided to give this another try.

Many aromatics smell like vanilla or cherry or whatever, but don't taste like those things. Nor do they taste like tobacco, since the underlying leaf is weak and chosen only for its ability to soak up casings. Cannon Plug does not have either flaw. The patchouli-plus casing comes through at full force, and is supported by a full-strength tobacco.

I tried a bowl of this in a corn cob pipe (wise move), just slightly breaking up the cube. It was very difficult to keep lit, but it kept my interest. Next up, I loaded a smallish cube but filled and topped the bowl with some end-of-the-tin Reiner Golden Flake, hoping to use it as tinder. It worked, but the Reiner was undetectable. This tobac is a love-or-hate thing, because the casings are really distinctive. There is nothing else. Even the strong tobaccos are powerless to assert flavors, and add only an "oomph" and a slight edge. Unfortunately, I fall into the "hate" category. No amount of aging could change this one.

This, and RB plug are remarkably similar. I do prefer RB plug a bit more, but if you're into classic, old-world taste, Cannon plug is for you.

This is one of the oldest pipe tobacco blends in existence today. It is not "Honeydew" however, it is Cheviot. There were a few civil war soldiers who smoked this blend, and it really is a fine tobacco that has stood the test of time.

You WILL taste the casing with this tobacco, and for me, it is pleasant. For others who are looking for a rich tobacco taste, you won't find a rich tobacco taste here, but you will find a nice pipe tobacco.

Be warned that this will permeate your pipe, probably permanently. I've smoked this in one of my favorite VA pipes, and I taste this a little bit with every smoke. Twenty smokes later, and I can still taste this. I don't mind it, but there are a few who might REALLY be put off by it. If you try it, I heartily suggest that you dedicate a pipe, or at least try it in a cheap-o, or corncob to be darned sure that you'll want to smoke it in one of your prized pipes.

Cannon Plug does indeed seem to be the lighter cousin of RB Plug. The consistency is part way between RB and Cob, tending more to the Cob side. It is clearly made from a pile of pressed leaves as you can (kind of) peal off a leaf at a time. By contrast, RB Plug is homogeneous and denser, all sense of leaf is gone. Cannon Plug is lighter in color too, a beautiful mottled gold and brown.

My sample came ready to smoke moisture-wise, again more like Cob Plug than RB, which is WAY moist. While it is fun to gently pull the leaves off, I prefer my plugs sliced "cross-cut", with very thin sliced cut w/ a single-edged razor-blade. I prefer Cannon Plug in slightly thicker slices than the afore-mentioned other two, since it tends to burn hotter, quite a bit hotter as a matter of fact.

The flavor is similar to RB, but more floral. Both are more on the fruity side that the more floral SG and GH scented flakes. These are strongly flavored tobaccos, so be warned! The flavor lasts throughout the bowl, not deepening as does RB Plug.

While it is prettier by far, easier to prepare and smoke than RB, I prefer RB- less bite than Cannon. Still, as an aficianado of scented flakes and such, I smoke them both on occasion. They are both worth a try if you are into such things.

Oh, yeah, and what is "Cheviot"? My dictionary says that Cheviot is a 1) "British breed of sheep" and 2) "a coarse twill wool fabric , used in making coats...". Huh? I must be missing something here, or else this explains that unusual taste...

I am writing one review to cover RB Plug, Cannon Plug, and Flake #7. I am guessing, and can be wrong, that Cannon Plug is a lighter version of RB Plug, and that Flake #7 is the Flake version of one or the other. This is more a description of a method to prepare them for smoking than a normal review. All are an acquired taste, and it took me many months to finally acquire that taste. Initially all three were impossible for me to smoke. All reeked from perfume that was so strong that the perfume transferred to my hands just from handling the tobaccos. I tried a few times to smoke them fresh from the bag, and had to dump them out. The perfume was overpowering the smoke. Since these blends have existed for over 200 years, I was determined to smoke them. I now cut off a chunk that would provide for about 6 small bowls. I leave the chunk in a plastic bag for a week or two. This allows some (but not all) of the perfume to evaporate. I find that I cannot rub out the drier chunks of plugs. So, I chop them into little square pieces, and then I put them into a very small jar. After about another week, they feel very dry, and I can't rub them any finer than they are at this stage. I then give each a twirl in a coffee blender. This transforms them into a decent size to smoke. And, to my surprise, after the coffee blender treatment, they are still very moist although they feel dry to the touch before the treatment. I then let them dry on a piece of paper until they reach my preferred level of moisture. I smoke them in a small meerschaum. Not only would they flavor a briar, but they actually flavor the meerschaum a bit for the next few smokes (not a bad experience). After all of this preparation, they turn into a very interesting and enjoyable smoke. The quality of the Virginias with just a lingering hint of the flavoring provide for a very decent, quality smoke. At the same time, the flavoring produces a very pleasurable and acceptable aroma that is very noticeable while smoking, and that adds to the total experience. Nicotine strength runs around 5-7 for me out of 10. With this preparation, they smoke dry and leave a very fine almost white-gray ash. The room aroma should be very pleasant to anyone in your presence. I really enjoy smoking a few bowls a week in a meer of any of the three blends. It took me decades to acquire a taste for Broccoli, but only a few months to adapt to these blends. The only negative for me is that the taste lingers in my mouth long after the smoke is finished. I will keep at least one of the three around for those special times when these unique blends appeal to me. For now, my choice of the three is the RB Plug.

The Cannon was my first experience with a plug; curiosity conquered trepidation. My first two bowls of this blend lead me to put this aside as a lost cause. The reasons being that it was too difficult to prepare, and so staggeringly aromatic that I was in shock. There is little to prepare one for the intense honeydew flavour that this product exudes.

And yet.

It is a jealous tobacco. Having smoked one bowl in a nice Stanwell apple, I found that the Cannon plug had left a scent that would never go away: fair warning! So I gave it another go. Having tried the tobacco again, I would say that it has very much won me over. The flavouring has me hooked, and as strong as the honeydew oils are, the tobacco keeps pace to provide a very singular smoking experience.

It is absolutely not an all-day, every-day smoke, but if pipe smoking could ever be described as adventurous, it would be because of Cannon Plug! I won't be without it.

By-the-by, I triple-checked against the above "tin description": Cannon is indeed the honeydew plug, the RB plug is the one listed as treated with Cheviot essence.